The Path to Stardom
by Plantty
Summary: Kashino Midori, a first year in St. Marie, is expected to do well right off the bat, simply because of her parents. But when she gets put in Group C, everything changes. How will her journey to work to the top affect her life? OC based.
1. Chapter 1

**Vanilla: She's back!**

**Chocolat: I vaguely remember the shape of your face... Maybe.**

**Me: *sweatdrop* I-it's not my fault! I ran out of ideas for DCCT! But that's okay! I have a new Yumeiro Patissiere story now!**

**Kashino: Oh god...**

**Me: ...it's good, I promise! Totally different. This chapter may seem slow, but please keep reading! I promise, this chapter is only really an introduction. Excitement shall ensue! I don't own Yumeiro Patissiere.**

"Midori! You're back!" my mom came flying at me and I accepted her with open arms, hugging her tightly. But something was off.

My mother pulled back and stared at my face, and her vision slowly trailed down my torso until she saw the bandages around my chest. Her eyes widened in

shock as she discovered the real reason I had come home. I signed and prepared for a long story.

"No matter how bad this becomes, I can rightfully blame Hiramashi Kujo," I told my mom seriously. She looked at me in confusion.

"What do you mean? What did that monster do to my poor little Midori?"

I dragged her over to our couch; the was going to be a long tale. "For starters, Kujo isn't really a bad person."

"YOU CALL THAT MONSTER BY HIS FIRST NAME?" she screeched. "LOOK AT WHAT HE DID TO YOU!"

"Mom, listen!" I begged. She calmed down. "Kujo isn't a monster, he's just..." I faded off and sighed. "Okay, let me start from the beginning. It all started when I got into that blasted Group C..."

-x-

I took out all of my clothes and neatly rearranged them.

Again.

Organizing by color, type, and season, I quickly put each and every piece of clothing back into the suitcase.

Again.

And then I did it all over once more, just to check.

Again.

Hi, my name is Kashino Midori. I'm thirteen years old and on my way to the most famous, most widespread school in the world, focused solely on baking- St. Marie.

My parents are like legends there. I guess they were the youngest people to ever win the Grand Prix or something. That might be part of my nervousness, but in all reality, I think it's more because I'm not going to be at home.

It's always been my dream to become a patissiere like my mom and my dad. I've loved to make sweets since I was just a little girl, and thanks to my mom and dad, I think I can call myself a pretty decent patissiere.

"Ri-Ri!" my mom's voice called from downstairs. "It's time to go! Hurry up or we'll be late for orientation!" Yeah, right. Because my parents know nothing about the school. I wanted to tell her that, but instead I snapped my suitcase shut and choked out an anxious,

"Coming!"

-x-

I bounced in my seat impatiently. "How much longer?" I asked again.

My older sister, Violet, sighed and rolled her eyes. "Didn't mom just say twenty minutes more? Do the math, Midori . Twenty minus five equals...?" she asked playfully.

"SHUT UP!" I exclaimed. "You didn't even WANT to go there!"

"Stop fighting, you two," dad said angrily from behind the wheel. I could tell he was angry by the way he was driving.

"I would suggest you slow down, Makoto," my mother whispered warningly. He sighed and the car started moving straighter, just not slower. My mom shook her head and turned around in her seat.

"So, are you ready for your first day at St. Marie?" she asked me excitedly. I nodded furiously. I could tell from the sparkles in her eyes that she had been waiting for this her entire life.

"I'm going to miss Mio, though." I lovingly stroked my little brother's hair. He was draped over my shoulder, fast asleep and drooling.

"We're here," my dad groaned suddenly, and the car came grinding slowly to a halt. I jumped up and shot out of the car to get a better look at the school.

I drew in a breath of awe as I stared at the castle. The stormy grey sky seemed to make the building itself twinkle, the dorms standing proudly on either side. A fierce wind blew behind me, whipping all of my green (no, it doesn't run in the family) hair in front of my eyes.

Disgusted, I turned to see my parents also staring at the building. "Do I really have to do everything around here?" I asked, annoyed. I walked around the car and over to the trunk. I pulled out my two bags- one with school supplies like any normal middle schooler, and the other with thigs like cookbooks, little decorations for my dorm, and of course, my DS. I slung one on each shoulder, slouching from the weight, and tried to pull out my suitcase of clothes and other essentials.

"Come on," I told it impatiently.

Well, I guess that made it pretty angry, because next thing I knew I was on my butt, my books scattered all over the pavement.

Somebody laughed behind me. I whipped around, ungracefully twisting my entire body and flinging it to the ground again before finally facing the right direction. Again, the laugh. I looked up, embarrassed, and saw a blue-haired boy with dark eyes standing a few feet in front of me.

"Shut up," I groaned, letting my face fall to the ground again.

The boy walked closer and started picking up my books. I tried to tell him not to worry about it, but he only replied, "That looks like a heavy load. Let me help you."

"T-thank you," I told him quietly, sitting up and picking up another book. I finished stuffing my books into my bag and zip it up securely.

"It's no problem," he replied.

I stared into his eyes and gasped. It was like staring deep into outer space, black with flecks of green in gold. I tore my eyes away. "I'm Kashino Midori," I told him, smiling cheerily. "What's your name?"

"It's nice to meet you, Kashino-san. My name is Hiramashi Kujo. I hope we can be friends."

We both grinned and nodded. I hopped up and, waving goodbye to my new friend, walked calmly over to my parents and frowned. They hadn't moved.

"Something isn't right," my dad said mysteriously. My mom nodded.

"It's just... Off."

They turned to face me and smiled, in sync.

"Well, are you ready for your first day at St. Marie?"

-x-

After heading for the Dorm Master's office, I calmly walked with my mom up the flight of stairs and down a short hallway. I was carrying my bags on my back and my mom dragged my suitcase. Part of me wishes that she wouldn't, because I know of her clumsiness, but then again, I'm pretty much the same way. It's a lose-lose situation.

"This should be your room!" my mom exclaimed, pointing at the door. On it, there was a card that read 'Kashino Midori' and 'Shirotaki Ishi'. "I think the dorm master said your roommate is already here."

"I can't wait to meet her!" I told her excitedly. I knocked on the door.

"Hello! Come on in, the door's unlocked!" a sweet, female voice rang through. I grinned. I liked her already.

Confidently, I reached out to the door and turned the knob...

"Hi! I'm Shirotaki Ishi! It's nice to meet you! You must be Kashino Midori," the black-haired girl said all in one breath. I was surprised. Usually, people started spazzing when they found out who my parents are. They're just too well-known here.

"Uh, yeah, I am. It's very nice to meet you, Shirotaki-san," I replied less energetically.

"Oh, call me Ishi! Please! If we're going to be spending the next year living in the same room, it's good not to be so formal, right?" she grinned. I smiled cheerily back.

"Then you have to call me Midori!" I laughed. "It's nice to meet you, Ishi-chan!"

"And you as well, Midori!" we giggled, and I turned back to my mom. She was smiling as well.

"This," I told her, "is going to be an amazing year."

-x-

My mom spotted Ishi's sitting on the bed, sorting out her clothes. With a smile, she walked over to the other lady and struck up a conversation. I guess I know where Ishi gets her talkativity.

We explored our room together (and the two small closets, and the bathroom) and I instantly felt at home.

"Mom?" I asked, breaking her conversation. She looked up at me, and I could tell she was tired of nodding. "Are the sheets and stuff still in the car?"

"SHOOT!" she shot up and dashed out. "YOUR FATHER WAS GOING TO GET THEM AND WAIT OUTSIDE THE DOOR!"

We three remaining girls laughed at my mother's antics.

"Now, if you don't mind," Ishi's mother said, rubbing her daughter's hair, "I'm going to check on Iko. He might be feeling kind of lonely without a parent to guide the way."

Ishi nodded. "Bye, Mom!" she hugged her and walked away.

I looked at Ishi curiously. "Who's Iko?" I asked.

"He's my twin brother. We're identical- well, except that we're different genders. I think you'll really like him. And, because I know you're dying to ask, my father is dead."

-x-

Mom replied soon after with bedclothes. Plopping them on the bed, she sighed, "I saw your mother on the way out. Going to check on your brother, huh? How old is he?"

"We're twins, ma'am." ah, so HERE was the built-up respect and awe.

"Well, I guess I should get going now... The school wants us all out by 8:00." she pointed to the clock on the wall, it was 7:45. "Midori, why don't you come downstairs and say goodbye to your siblings? Shirotaki-chan is welcome, too." I nodded and followed her out the door, but Ishi stayed put.

"I'll stay," she whispered. I shrugged and walked down the hall.

For once, my mom managed not to fall face-first down a flight of stairs. It might have been because she was clutching the railing with her entire arms, looking like she was going to die, but I think it's just luck.

My dad was quite obviously trying not to cry as he hugged me goodbye.

"I'll really miss you," Mio uttered while hugging me, also. I teared up.

"I'm going to miss both of you, too."

"Ri! Don't forget to use what I taught you!" Violet said when it was her turn. I groaned.

"Believe me, it's hard enough to remember." I pushed her away playfully, both of us laughing.

"It's time to go," my mom said, sadly. I smiled.

"Don't worry mom! I'll be fine!" it seemed like no time had passed, but suddenly, they were backing away. I stared at our car until finally, I couldn't see it anymore. Again, the wind whipped my hair, but I didn't mind.

I was alone.

-x-

**If you're looking for a Grand Prix story, turn back now. This is going to be about Midori's journey as a first year... With excitement... And such.**

**I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review! It helps me write better in the future.**

**Your Humble Author,**

**Plantty**

**EDIT: intro is, in fact, at the top now.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

•Chapter 2•

Ishi, Iko, and a Sweets Evaluation!

We never did go visit Ishi's brother that night. Instead, we stayed up late in our own dorm, adding little decorations of our own and putting away our clothes to make it feel just a bit more like home. I had brought some colorful Chinese lanterns, which Ishi immediately glomped and demanded I hang up "RIGHT NOW, DAMMIT!" She herself had brought some plain white Christmas lights. We plugged them in and hung them from little hooks on the wall behind our beds.

By 11:00, we we're thoroughly tired. And good thing, too- I think Ishi would have kept me up all night if I was the only one half-asleep. We collapsed on our not-so-nearly made beds.

"It was a good day," I muttered to myself.

"I agree," Ishi replied, surprisingly. "I'm glad I met you, Midori."

"I'm glad I met you, too."

We settled into a comfortable silence and soon enough, we were both fast asleep.

-x-

"Hi, Midori Kashino-san!"

"Uh, who are you?"

He frowned. "Are you kidding? You forgot about me?" he started to cry. "I'm Jim Nasium!"

I deadpanned. "Gymnasium? Like, the room?"

"No! J-I-M Nasium!"

The man standing in front of me became visibly angrier by the second as he realized I had no clue who he was. Eventually, he broke down in tears. I sweatdropped.

"Uh, I'm... Sorry?"

"YOU WILL PAY!" he screamed, his voice becoming deeper and deeper. He grew taller and taller, furrier and furrier. He was turning into some sort of a monster.

He stomped towards me...

I sat up suddenly, shaking violently.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked softly. I jumped, but then realized it was only Ishi. I sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's only Ishi." another sigh. "I'll be fine. Just a bad dream."

"If you say so," she told me, flopping back onto her pillow. I could hear her breathing quietly just a second later.

I pulled the covers off my legs and swung them over the side of the bed. My bare toes touching the soft carpet, I tiptoed over to my bag, still hanging on the back of my closet door. I pulled out a small notebook with a star design on the cover, which had a pen attached to it. This was my 'Dream Log'. Whenever I remembered my dreams, I recorded them in this book to keep the memory safe.

'September 3, 2012.'

I paused and thought of how exactly to document my dream with bullets.

'-random dude

-knows my name

-tells me he is Jim Nasium

-starts sobbing when I don't remember him

-turns into a monster'

Satisfied with my log, I plopped it on my nightstand, turned off my flashlight which I didn't really remember getting out, and went back to sleep.

-x-

Friends are the worst alarm clocks ever.

"MIDORI! YOUR ALARM WENT OFF LIKE FIVE MINUTES AGO! TURN THE STUPID THING OFF ALREADY!"

Similar screams filled my ears as I slowly woke up. I rubbed my eyes and discovered Ishi looking maddeningly down at me. I also registered that my alarm was blaring.

"Why didn't you turn it off?" I groaned, my arm slamming on he familiar button.

"I didn't want you to get mad at me for touching your stuff!" Ishi replied, her voice a sort of upbeat sadness.

"Well," I told her, swinging my legs off the bed again and stretching, "next time that happens, if it happens again, I give you permission to turn off my alarm and not wake me up. Probably an entire hour's sleep I missed then, now, thanks to you."

"Well, actually..." Ishi looked a little guilty. "I don't know if you remember, but we have a Sweets Examination in half an hour to get put into our groups for class."

"WHAT?!"

The rest of the morning sped by like nobody's buisness. Surprisingly, I managed to take a shower, find my uniform and put it all on correctly in only twenty minutes. My hair was sort of a mess, but I just brushed through my green locks like it was the end of the world and pulled it back into a low ponytail.

Ishi's long, black hair was in pigtails behind her back as we walked out the door. We still had ten minutes to go just a little ways, but there were dozens of kids milling about anyways, half of them middle schoolers like us, half of them first-year high schoolers needing to be placed for their own new start. Ishi and I decided to ask a high schooler which way to go, since neither of us could remember.

"EXCUSE ME!" I shouted, dashing towards a student. "COULD YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL KITCHEN?"

The student was surprised. He turned around and laughed. "Just follow the signs," he advised, pointing to a little paper with an arrow on it. It read, 'Middle School Kitchens,' and had an arrow. My cheeks heated up.

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, dragging Ishi away. He laughed again.

"I wish you two the best of luck!"

-x-

Somehow, we managed to make it into the kitchens in one piece. How we never came here before, I'm not sure, but this room was fantastic. Cooking stations laid out all around the room, ingredients galore stacking every shelf. It was fabulous.

People were socializing all around the room, talking to one another and making new friends. But the one person who stood out to me was a black-haired boy standing quietly in a corner, talking casually to the person I remembered as Hiramashi Kujo from the day before.

He looked just like Ishi.

Hiramashi stopped talking for a second, and they both turned to face us. "ISHI!" the black-haired boy called, waving to my friend. She whipped around and smiled.

"That's Iko, my brother. Come on, I'll introduce you to him!" she exclaimed, grabbing my hand.

"Ah!" I exclaimed. She was dragging m along. "Wait! Wait! I CAN WALK!"

Shirotaki laughed. "Lighten up, Ishi! Is that your roommate?"

"Yeah! And it's nice to see you too, Iko... I'm just going to go on a whim and guess you're Iko's roommate, so I'm not even going to bother introducing myself."

I stood up from the ground and glanced at Ishi's brother. He stared at me playfully, and I blushed.

"I-I'm Kashino Midori, and I'm Ishi's roommate," I said quietly. "It's nice to meet you..." I glared at Hiramashi, "...both."

"What did I do?" the blue-haired boy exclaimed. Shirotaki shrugged.

"I don't know, but I'm Shirotaki Iko. You can call me Iko if you want, I don't really mind. A friend of Ishi's has always been a friend of mine, so..." he stuck out his hand for me to shake, "welcome, Kashino-chan!"

I giggled and shook his hand. "Thank you very much! I'm glad to be here! I hope we can become friends!"

The four of us talked for a few minutes amiably; it was probably the most fun conversation I had had in years. So when it was interrupted, I was distraught.

"Class, please find groups of four and find an open kitchen!" the teacher announced. We filed into the small stations and I almost jumped up and down with excitement. "Today, as your first day in St. Marie, you have tiger assigned your groups! These will be your groups throughout all four middle school years; however, you can drop or advance based on your performance in class. There will be groups of four, and two groups of three. I am Yuiki-Sensei, your teacher for this class. Today, your introductory assignment will be to make cookies!" she walked over to the whiteboard. "As I'm certain you all know, cookies are a perfect flavor-builder. You can make many flavors and types. Today, you will be judged based on creativity, taste, and technique. You will get a score out of 20 from me and 3 others- points out of 5 from each person- and that is how we will place you. Do you understand?" all the sudents buzzed excitedly. "Well then! Let's get cooking!"

The room was a gentle flurry of excitement. Each student was taking their own steps to make their sweets just perfect, and me, I was doing the same.

I was making my favorite cookies, the first ones I learned to make. My mom, dad and I would always bake them together when I was little. Violet always preferred the eating to the process, a trait to which I always got mad at her for.

The cookies were chocolate chip, with chocolate mixed into the dough along with some peppermint. We called them 'chocolate chocolate chip peppermint cookies,' so you probably could have figured it out, but I like discriptions.

In any event, I felt a sense of serenity as I made my cookies. I creamed the butter and added the sugar, both brown and white. I remember loving the taste of the sugary sweetness. The rest of the ingredients go in one by one, and in no time at all my cookies are in the oven. I asked Ishi to watch my cookies and not let them burn while I went to find plates for the group. I assured them I would be back soon.

Gosh, those plates were hard to find.

After thuroughly ripping up a few shelves, I finally discovered the tiny little objects. I grabbed them and turned around to walk back to my kitchen, but instead was bombarded by the mess I had made. I sweatdropped.

"Oops."

-x-

"KASHINO-CHAN! YOUR COOKIES ARE READY!" Shirotaki-san called. I gasped.

"COMINGGGGG!" I exclaimed, finishing cleaning in a flash and dashing (with the plates, of course) back to be kitchen we were using. I slammed the china on the counter and slid to the oven, mitts magically appearing on my hands. I pulled the pan out of the oven and grinned. The cookies looked amazing! In a flash, I had pulled the little delicacies off of the tray and placed them on a rack to cool.

"Perfect!" I muttered. Grinning, I grabbed four plates and nearly arranged them around my station, preparing for the moment my precious cookies would be cool enough to serve.

"Those look really good, Midori-chan!" Ishi exclaimed from behind me. I grinned and turned around.

"Arigato! Yours look really yummy, too, Ishi!" I pointed to her cookies, which were like tiny sandwich cookies. They had a light orange-colored cream in the center. My friend smiled thankfully, and returned to her station to plate her treats.

I gently felt one of my cookies with my fingertips. They were cool! I took a spatula and gently placed two cookies in the center of each plate. The white was a sharp contrast to the dark brown color of the cookies. And just in time, too- Yuiki-sensei was starting to make her rounds with the other teachers, who I could remember seeing around the building.

"Very good, although the texture is a little crunchy," she told one girl, one with light pink hair. Her face flushed and she bowed deeply. I couldn't hear what she said next, but her voice sounded little over a whisper.

The teachers marked her paper, and moved on.

"The cookies are a little dark on the bottom," a different teacher told a girl with blonde hair. She had a red streak in her bangs and was wearing glasses.

"I apologize," she told him quietly.

"The flavor is also a little bland, add more spices next time," a different teacher told her.

"I'll be sure to remember," she replied. "Thank you."

"But," the first teacher insisted, "the overall cookie was good. It's just the technique that needs a little work."

"I UNDERSTAND!" she screamed. The teachers frowned, and one wrote something on their paper. The girl looked like she was about to cry as they walked away.

"KASHINO MIDORI!" a loud voice boomed beside me. I shook myself back to real life and my eyes widened.

They were here.

"Yes, I'm Kashino Midori," I told them confidently. "Today I've made chocolate chocolate-chip cookies with some peppermint. Enjoy."

The teachers took a bite of each of their cookies and nodded, slowly.

"I can taste all of the flavors. Your cookie is very balanced," Yuiki-Sensei commented. She wrote something on her sheet. I sighed in relief.

"Yes, although the texture could be just a little smoother," a different teacher commented. I frowned.

"I'm sorry."

"I would suggest mixing for just a bit longer next time," she continued. "Otherwise, the cookies were excellent." they finished scoring and moved onto Shirotaki-san's cookies.

"Great job!" Ishi muttered into my ear. I grinned.

"You too!" I exclaimed, after realizing her cookies had already been scored. "I hope we'll get into the same group!"

-x-

"KASHINO-CHAN!" I heard Shirotaki call. I rolled my eyes and turned to face him.

"What do you want, Shirotaki?" I asked, annoyed. "I need to go back to the dorm to, um... Change, and then... Uh. Study?" I told him, praying he would buy the excuse and not realize school didn't actually start until tomorrow.

He sighed. "Why are you avoiding me? I only just met you, and besides," he smirked, "school doesn't start until tomorrow."

I grew more and more angry with him.

"I'm going to go talk to Ishi and make some friends, okay?" I asked impatiently. He nodded, still smiling. I could tell by the twinkle in his eyes he was going to tell Ishi to ask me, anyway.

"See you later then, Kashino-chan." he waved and walked away. I rolled my eyes. Some people just didn't know when to stop.

-x-

"Iko wanted me to ask you-" I sighed. "...whether or not you would come with me, him and Hiramashi-san to the mall tomorrow."

"Called it," I muttered. Ishi shot me a questioning look, to which I answered with a shrug. "Uh, I guess so. Why?"

"Just a little habit of ours, going to the mall," she shrugged. "Thought we'd bring along some friends this time."

"Sounds good to me," I replied. She nodded, smiling, before walking out the door. Only then did I realize the meaning of what she had said.

'They go to the mall... Every week.'

Who are they?

-x-

**EDIT: ****important**** **

**There's a little intro to this, which I conveniently forgot to include in the beginning of the first chapter. It isn't long, but it's a kind of dramatic springboard into the action. You don't have to read it, but if you want to, please do! It's up now!**

**A/N: And that's wrap! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, Chuu112 and Miss. V Potter! Thanks so much for following! XD**

**Ooh, we go into the realm of Ishi and Iko's past. Ish. **

**I had an AMAZING day yesterday, conversations with my best friend and my guy friend (really the only one I can call that) all through French, easy stuff in science (NO HOMEWORK!), teams with my friends in gym, and then a hilarious Social Studies class! So I'm in a really, really good mood and I'll try my very best to update soon :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"That was so fun!" I exclaimed, throwing my lone shopping bag on the floor and plopping down on my bed. Ishi and I had just returned from a shopping trip to the mall with Hiramashi-kun and Shirotaki-san. Ishi had two bags, one of little decorations for her 'half' of our room and one of other little knicknacks. To give you a visual, I'll just say that one bag (the one with the decorations) was as big as, say, a storm drain. Pretty big. The other one was even bigger.

Anyways, I plopped onto my bed. I shut my eyes and let the overwhelming urge to fall asleep take control.

When I woke up a few minutes later, I groaned.

"MIDORI! MIDORI!" Ishi was screaming. I could hear her heavy landings as she jumped up and down with joy.

"What is it?" I asked halfheartedly. Well, there goes my sleep.

"OUR GROUP ASSIGNMENTS CAME!"

"WHAT?!" I sprang up and shoved past her, slamming the door open. I stuck my head outside and got a quick glimpse of the barren floor where the letter should be before the door rebounded back onto me. It hit my side andslammed me in between it and the doorframe.

I guess our door is pretty strong.

"Ow ow ow ow owwww," I whined, pushing the door gently away from me.

"Are you okay?" Ishi asked, dropping two envelopes and jogging over to help.

Wait a second, two envelopes...

Oh.

"ISHIIIIII!" I called furiously. "WHY didn't you tell me you had them?"

"I didn't think you'd want to know," she shrugged. I glared at her and she sweat dropped. "I'll tell you next time."

"Thank you," I replied coldly, reaching out and grabbing the envelope she was handing me. I froze.

"Midori? What's wrong?" Ishi asked, distracted. She had already torn her envelope open and pulled out a note, quickly skimming it. Her face lit up. "Yes! I got Group A! What did you get, Midori?' there was a pause where I didn't reply. "Midori?"

An overwhelming cold swept over. Time had stopped, and my arm was left suspended in midair, clutching the envelope for dear life.

"Midori!"

Ishi's shouts brought me back to reality. Shaking, I carefully tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. It was a pale orange, just like our school uniforms, and had the school's seal on it.

'Kashino Midori,

We are very pleased to announce that you have been placed in Group C in your daily Pattiserie class! Please report to kitchen #3 in the beginning of class tomorrow to meet your teammates and prepare for a great year.

Sincerely,

The St. Marie Staff'

I paled. "I-Ishi?" I stuttered quietly.

"What is it?"

"I-I'm not in your group. I'm in Group C."

"WHAAAAAT?!"

-x-

Time Skip: 2 months later

After the first few cooking classes, the entire class fell into a familiar rhythm. I had three other girls in my group: the one with bubblegum-colored hair from evaluations, Ari Hawazaki; the girl with blonde hair (and a red streak) who was drilled down during evaluations, Shizuka Hatsumoto; and a girl I hadn't noticed before, Hisui Shiro. I learned in English class (where I had chosen to sit next to her due to our quick bonding) that her name meant 'White Jade' in English, her native language. Apparently, her Japanese parents moved to America, she was born, lived there until she was ten, and moved to Japan. So although she could read and write Japanese like a pro, she was also perfectly fluent in English. Why she was in an English class after that, I have no idea. She says her parents wanted her to learn more about her native culture.

Now that you know about Shiro, let me tell you about Ishi. We've grown closer, but for whatever reason, I still don't completely trust her. I feel like she should be my best friend, but there's something missing. Iko (apparently, 'Shirotaki' had gotten 'old', he had told me while blushing wildly) and I had been getting closer by the day. I trained both with my own team and with him, and he was seriously helping me improve. Slowly, I was inching towards the line Yuiki-Sensei had told me it would take to be able to transition into Group B.

"Midori?" I looked up to find Shiro staring down at me. "What... What are you doing?"

I flushed and glanced around. I was sitting on a bench near the lake, apparently staring at Iko-kun as he stared at the lake. Oops.

"N-nothing!" I exclaimed, shooting up. 'More like zoning and reliving the entire past two months just for kicks,' I thought, shuffling my feet.

"Well, that's good, because I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"We get a day off this Thursday for us Americans, who celebrate Thanksgiving. I was wondering if you'd like to come with me and celebrate it with my family." I was shocked, and my face probably showed it, because she hastily added, "I-I mean, I'd you want to, that is! I would understand perfectly if you'd rather not, I just thought-"

"I'd be happy to come," I told her. "I just need to call my mom and let her know."

"GREAT!" she exclaimed. I smiled.

"Any time. You're my best friend! Why would I let you down?"

Shiro grinned thankfully and walked away. I sat back down on the bench and sighed.

"Thank goodness that's over."

"What's over?" a masculine voice asked from above me. I could practically HEAR Kujo's smirk.

"Go away, Hiramashi-San," I said coldly, glaring up at my sort-of friend. He got in Group A with Ishi and Iko, and so naturally I was very jealous. He grinned at my angry expression, and asked smoothly,

"So, what are you doing on the day off, Kashino? Wanna go shopping?"

"I just promised Shiro I would celebrate with her family," I told him angrily. "Didn't you hear that whole conversation, too?"

"Woah, sorry! I didn't mean to offend you," he said, and started walking away, too. He smirked again. "Just think about my offer."

"NO," I told him firmly.

'What's wrong with me?'

-x-

Thanksgiving is fun! Shiro's family is so unique and wonderful. Her little sister, Hannah (she had gotten an English name after they moved back to Japan, Shiro explained) was only 3, but clung to me like a magnet.

For dinner we ate a wonderful turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and carrots, all courtesy of the lovely Mrs. Hisui. We then ate a delicious assortment of pies and cookies. All in all, I would rate the experience a fifty out of ten. Why doesn't Japan have Thanksgiving? It's amazing!

Anyways, we're now at the end of November. In classes, we are learning about all things winter and holiday related, and in Cooking, we are making an early batch of gingerbread cookies!

"Hawazaki, can you hand me the flour?" I asked my teammate. Ari, a girl with pink hair and a stutter, immediately smiled and obeyed.

"How are your cookies coming along, Kashino-chan?" she asked politely. I grinned.

"They're going to be amazing!" we giggled and got back to work.

To make the cookies, my team first creamed the butter and the sugar together. Then, we added the eggs, flour, baking powder, and spices in the correct order. Hawazaki put the group's cookies in the oven. I decided in my spare time between finishing cleaning and the cookies finishing, I would make a quick icing. I took confectioners' sugar and just a little bit of milk and mixed them together in three small, seperate bowls. Then I used food coloring and a bit of vanilla extract to color the icing red and green. I left the final bowl white, but still put a little bit of vanilla into the icing.

Finally, after waiting ten to fifteen minutes, the cookies were done. I pulled the little gingerbread men out of the oven and quickly pulled them onto a wire rack to cool. Then, I dashed back over to the oven to retrieve my other pan, which contained the pieces to make my very own gingerbread house. Each person in our team had one. These would be frozen overnight, and we would finish decorate then the next day with candies we made on our own spare time.

"Those look delicious, Midori-chan!" someone exclaimed from behind me. I spun around to find a smiling Shiro pointing to my cookies. "Let's decorate one for each other! Will you?"

"Of course!" I replied cheerfully, and turned back to my icings. I wrapped and stacked them, and brought them to the refrigerator.

"Great job today, guys!" I high-fived my team as we walked out the door only two minutes later. Hatsumoto-chan and Hawazaki-san were conversing cheerily as they unbuttoned their chef's jackets and pulled off their hats. I reached up to pull my own hat off of my head, but my hands fell only on my smooth green hair, a quality I picked up from who knows where.

"What?" I spun around in panic and scanned the floor for my hat. Instead of finding my hat lying on the floor, I found it in someone's sturdy hands. They laughed.

"Kashino-san, your expression is so funny!" I glared at the smiling face of Hiramashi Kujo.

"Shut up and give me my hat," I growled. He only laughed again.

"But it's so fu-" he suddenly stopped short and glanced at his now empty hands.

Shiro and I broke out into a monstrous for of laughter. While he wasn't paying attention, she had snuck behind Kujo and snatched the hat out of his hands, tossing it to me.

"Too late, loser!" I smirked and put the hat on top of my uniform (folded quite nicely, of COURSE) in my locker and slammed the door. "Quite unfortunately, you don't know my combination."

He scowled angrily. "I'm sorry for wanting to have a little fun," he snarled, before smiling sweetly and turning to go walk-and-talk with Iko.

"Are you sure you don't like him?" Shiro asked me with a smirk as we were walking away. I gave her a playful slap.

"Of course I don't like THAT idiot, baka." I glanced backwards, into the big kitchen, and smiled at our kitchen, the one with a large letter C painted in orange on the white cabinets. "Besides, I have all the friends I could ever need."

-x-

**A/N: Aww, sweet little Midori. (I was going to say Shizuka, and then realized... Not right. Just... No.) She's growing up! Stay tuned for an amazing story of hope, trial, fatal error, death, destruction, singing, yellow smiley faces, cutesy baking and, of course, for the grand finale-**

**Ducks.**

**...watch me actually make this into the storyline, people. (People=mainly Teto here, but screw politics.)**

**And as always, THANKS FOR READING! 3**

**~gumimegpoid13**

**a/n 2: sorry, guys. If you actually liked reading this story, I never uploaded it. I apologize, and you're probably not going to get an update for a while. I can't find the files on my computer. Apologies.**


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